www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Prayer Pope John Paul II, Memory Eternal

With the souls of the righteous, give rest, O Savior, to the soul of Your servant departed, Pope John Paul II, in a place of brightness, a place of green pastures, a place of repose, from whence all sickness, sorrow, and sighing have fled away, and where the Sight of Your Face enlightens and gladdens and sanctifies that life of Yours which is lived by the saints whom You ahve gathered from all the ages. Grant him Your Heavenly Kingdom and a portion in Your ineffable and eternal blessings and a share in Your unending life.

Lord Jesus, forgive John Paul all those things in which he may have offended You in this life. He endeavored to carry the cross You gave him in leading Your Church into the new millenium and giving clarity to the teaching You gave to Your Church. Have mercy on him at this time, his personal judgment. Grant him a rapid entrance into Your Presence because he so longed to see Your Face and show it to others by his example.

Grant, O Lord, mercy to the one who lived his life to give glory to You and to Your Father Who is from everlasitng, and who was always so open to the All-Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. AMEN.

Holy Mother of God, ask Your Divine Son to have mercy on this son of yours who was so devoted to you. He offered Totus Tuus--All Yours--to you, Holy Mother, as his Papal motto. Acknowledge him when he appears before Your Son. AMEN.

Lord, grant to us who are orphaned by the passing of Pope John Paul II your consolation at this time. AMEN.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
Let Perpetual Light shine on him.

May he rest in peace.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through Your Mercy, O Lord, rest in peace. AMEN.

Memory Eternal
Memory Eternal
Memory Eternal

CHRIST IS RISEN---AND IN OUR VERY MIDST!

O Master of our lives; you who bring us into being and call us to Yourself at the close of day; receive into Your presence, the soul of the most pious and God-loving Shepherd, Pope John Paul II and give him the share of his inheritance promised him at baptism, priestly ordination, and episcopal consecration. Reward his labors done for love of You and glorify him among the angels and Saints in Paradise and do not forever him forever, but bid Your holy angels to accompany him into Eternal Life where You and his Most Holy Lady the Virgin of Mary of Czestochowa will receive him and welcome him in glory! Overlook and forgive any sins either by commission or omission and realize that we all have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Look upon the faith of Your Church and know that we loved him in this life and only desire now, his happiness in Heaven. Give him that joy and peace which he desires because of his faithfulness to You! He bore much suffering during his life and yet never ever complained, but offered all to You, his Lord and Redeemer, now restore that perfect image of Yourself given him at Holy Baptism. Make him one with all those in Heaven who have pleased You from the beginning of time and admit him into the Light of Your presence, there to experience the inexpressible joy and happiness he always desired.

O Lord look down from the heights of Heaven upon the Widowed See of Rome and have mercy upon your Catholic people who mourn the repose of their Chief Shepherd and Holy Father, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Console Your Bride, the Church with an increase of faith and hope and trust in You, so that this transition into Eternity of their Shepherd may bring them closer to You and to him by binding them ever closer to the everlasting mystery of Your love for all of mankind. Comfort Your people Lord with the firm knowledge that they too will most surely follow him into Paradise one day, and that if they live as he lived, will be welcomed into a joy that will never end! Sustain us all on that Blessed Sacrament of Your love until that day when we join our father and brother, Pope John Paul in the glory of Your presence. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour, Who with You Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns unto ages of ages, Amen.

JOHN PAUL II---WE LOVE YOU!

On bended knees, in the hope of salvation in Christ,
+Fr. Gregory

In your charity, I ask you to remember especially during these days, His Eminence, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, His Holiness' private secretary for over 40 years. Always by his side...always doing and bringing about exactly what the Holy Father desired. These days must be particularly difficult and painful for Archbishop Dziwisz, the faithful son of the Holy Father! Remember him in your prayers!

May the Most Holy Mother of God of Czestochowa comfort him among all those who truly loved the Holy Father!

In the Risen Lord's great mercy,
+Fr. Gregory

Many prayers for comfort from above during this difficult time for Archbishop Dziwisz. Not only does he mourn for a close friend but for a friend whose holiness must have permeated his relationship with him. It is sad to lose extreme holiness when we are close to it.

In prayer,
Alice

Prayers for the Archbishop, I can't imagine the loss he must be feeling, almost like a son losing his father......Prayers for all this who mourn this Holy man
Aidan Michael

We are thinking especially of everyone of Polish descent on the loss of +Pope John Paul II. Your brother has left this world, but is now with the Lord.
What a wonderful human being he was, what a wonderful priest he was, what a wonderful role model for all of mankind he was. For us Ukrainian Byzantine Rite Catholics he was especially dear because of his great love and admiration for the Eastern Church [not to mention the fact that his mother Amelia was Ukrainian]. He described the Catholic Church as breathing with both lungs - the Western tradition and the Eastern tradition. How very true!
At our parish church - St. Vladimir in Scranton PA - yesterday evening we conducted a special prayer service [Pananchida] for His Holiness and today our church bell tolled 84 times before Divine Liturgy. Of course, he was remembered during today's Sunday of St. Thomas Liturgy. Father Paul, our good pastor, spoke so lovingly of him and recalled several personal experiences he had had with John Paul during his Ukrainian Seminary days in Rome. Many of us were teary eyed as we listened so intently to Father's warm recollections.
We join our Polish brothers and sisters in thanking God for having given us such a remarkable Shepherd. We understand that on his deathbed John Paul asked those around him not to cry because he was happy and said they should be happy too. So, let us be happy knowing our dear saintly +Pope John Paul is being embraced by the Lord Jesus and pray that we will see him again on that day when Jesus embraces us.
Christos Voskres!

AMEN!

Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy!

I am praying but at a loss for words.

LORD, ALMIGHTY GOD,

WE THANK YOU FOR GIVING US A WONDERFUL SHEPHERD, OUR POPE JOHN PAUL II (KAROL CARDINAL WOJTYLA). HE'S OUR BEEN OUR FATHER, BROTHER AND A CLOSE FRIEND. WHEN WE'RE SAD, WE ALWAYS FEEL THAT HE'S THERE ALTHOUGH HE'S FAR.

HE TAUGHT US THE VALUE OF PRAYER, LIFE AND SERVICE TO OTHERS. HE SHOWED US HOW TO SUFFER AND TO SERVE OTHERS TO THE EXTENT OF PERSECUTION BY OTHERS. HE SHOWED US HOW TO LOVE THE VIRGIN AND HOW TO PLEASE HER WITH PRAYERS AND WORKS. HE TEACHED US TO DEFEND THE RIGHT OF EVERY HUMAN PESON TO LIVE AND TO CELEBRATE LIFE.

HE TAUGHT US TO FORGET OUR OWN PAINS IN ORDER TO RELIEVE OTHER'S PAINS. HE TEACHED US THE VALUE OF UNITY AND PEACE. THAT, IT IS BEAUTIFUL TO LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY. WITH NO HARD FEELINGS TO SOMEONE. HE SHOWED US THAT THE YOUTH OF TODAY HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE LIFE LIFE OF THE CHURCH. BY HIS EXAMPLES, HE REFLECTED YOUR DIVINE MERCY TO OTHERS. BY HIS EXAMPLES, HE SHOWED THE DIGNITY OF EVERY CHRISTIAN,

SO LORD, LEAD HIM TO YOUR PRESENCE. GIVE HIM THE REWARD THAT IS DUE TO HIM. WE, YOUR CHURCH, TAHNK YOU FOR HIM. MAY HE ALWAYS INTERECEED FOR US. DEAREST MOTHER MARY, TEACH US HOW TO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLES AS IS MOTTO SAYS: TOTUS TUUS! I AM TRULY YOURS!

AMEN, ALLELUIA!

PEACE OF CHRIST,
BRO. FRANCIS MARY, O.S.F.
DEACON-MONK

VIVA IL PAPA (LONG LIVE THE POPE)!!

Dear Father in heaven,

For your servant, +Pope John Paul II:

"Now we have observed his teaching, his conduct, his aim in life, his faith, his patience, his love, his steadfastness, his persecutions, his sufferings..."

"...the time of his departure has come. He has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for him the crown of righteouness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to him on that Day..."

2 Timothy 3:10-11a, 4:6b-8a (RSV)

For his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

I know we should rejoice. We know that John Paul the Great now has his eternal reward. He gave us so much that it should be inspiration to us all throughout our last days on earth.

But nevertheless it hurts very much. I feel that I have lost a dear friend.

I pray for the Polish nation and for Archbishop Dziwisz, also for Cardinal Macharski of Krakow, and I pray that all of John Paul's unanswered and unfilled intentions for humanity will be fulfilled, especially the reconciliation of Christians.

Vicnaja jemu pamjat'!

Eternal rest!

Stojgniev

I too, pray for Archbishop Dziwisz, although I believe he has already seen his most immediate prayers answered. Though mourning his personal loss, I am sure he is rejoicing that the brother he has served for so many years has received his reward.
To Archbishop Dziwisz, Many Years!

Bill

CHRIST IS RISEN---AND IN OUR VERY MIDST!

I guess I'm thinking here Bill mostly with the heart and emotions of a celibate. This man (Archbishop Dziwisz) served the Holy Father for almost FIFTY years. His entire life as priest and now as archbishop was to (as my seminary classmate George Weigel says in Witness to Hope ) "Dziwisz brought with him a simple understanding of his task---to make happen what the Holy Father wanted to happen." (pg. 277) Weigel goes on: "It is the unhappy lot of the papal secretary to have to say "No" to many important people, including many important churchmen, and the resentments that can build up are, if not edifying, at least understandable. Yet Stanislaw Dziwisz has not drawn the resentment and wrath of men of rank in the Church the way some of his predecessors have. That is explained, at least in part, by the fact that this son of very humble conditions is a gentleman whose selflessness is known and respected, even by those to whom he has had to say "No." The relationship between the two men is perhaps best described as that which every father wants from a son: love and duty without fear or sycophancy." (pg. 277). Now he is an 'archbishop' but without a diocese or country or ministry...his whole life has changed 110% overnight. What faith this man has...and will need in the future! Please continue to pray for him...God love him! I watched him today walking behind the Holy Father's body (he's the 'family' the Holy Father no longer has)...and I cried like I haven't cried for years!

Most Holy Mother of God "Queen of the Clergy" and "Lady of Fatima" strengthen the Archbishop Stanislaw...and keep him close to your own immaculate heart!

In the Risen Lord & His Most Pure Mother,
+Fr. Gregory

Prayers for the Holy Father, O Holy Mother of Czestochowa, welcome and comfort our Pope John Paul II.

james

While the Holy Father was (is!) Poland's favorite son, he belonged to all the faithful. The Holy Father understood the suffering ot the Ukranian people in a way few others outside Ukraine could understand.

I miss him a little more each day.

My prayers for my ancestral homeland of Poland, for brave and faithful Ukraine, and for the Holy Father.

Fr. Gregory - if I were not Catholic, I would seek you out to join Orthodoxy. God bless you, sir.

Yes, Father Gregory, the sense of loss that Archbishop Dziwisz must feel at this time has to be great. I myself can't remember shedding tears over the loss of any public personality before, maybe getting pretty choked up, but not moved to the point where I was shedding tears. I have been moved to tears quite a few times in the past few days following the Pope's death. I had never met or touched or even been in close proximity to the Pope, but I've had the same type of feeling one gets when a member of your family passes away. The Archbishop has to deal with losing such a close loved one and the uncertainty of "What will I do now, what happens next?".

Continued prayers for Archbishop Dziwisz.

Bill